The future of philanthropy
Blockchain will forever change the way we work.
IMAGINE
You are a Rohingyan man who has fled his village in Myanmar. Many years ago, the government declared you were not a legal citizen, refused to count you in the census, and revoked your right to vote. Recently, the military began waging an anti-Muslim offensive, burning villages and attacking your people.
You took your family and fled to neighboring Bangladesh where you have been doing the best you can to protect them in a tightly packed refugee camp. Hundreds of thousands of people piled on top of each other. The aid workers say it’s the largest camp in the world. There is little food, there are no schools for the children to attend, and there is little work.
Bangladesh has made it clear your people are not welcome; there is no hope of going home. There is talk of work in the
Middle East Emirates have demand for laborers. You have been earning a few extra bags of rice a week cleaning the clinic near your family’s hut, but it is not enough to buy transportation for all of you, and even if it was, you have no documentation — Myanmar does not recognize you, Bangladesh does not recognize you. Where is it possible to get a passport? A visa to travel?
IMAGINE
You are heading up an NGO initiative to build an orphanage in C’ôte d’Ivoire in collaboration with local partners. Your donor base has supplied the $100,000 to see the project through its full life cycle; it is your job to ensure the funds are spend responsibly and with as little waste as possible.
The problem: corruption in the region is endemic, and is often at its worst in the construction industry.
Your budget is tight, you have no room for the extra “taxes” or “advisory fees” that have crept previous organizations’ work into insolvency. You must maximize the funds and make every dollar count while completing the project entirely with national staff.
You trust your in-country partners; you have no sense of the builders, and the supply chain is opaque at best. You need a means of insuring all supplies are accounted for and the money is properly appropriated every step of the way.
IMAGINE
You are a young female in Afghanistan. You are lucky: your family is progressive and they not only allowed, but encouraged you to get an education. You are one of three women you know who got an advanced degree. Initially, you did projects for a few small companies in Kabul, but the pay was scant if at all. [One job refused to pay you at all citing dissatisfaction with your work, but you knew it was because he could: you are a woman, and his word would win.]
Taking small freelance work online, the pay was terrible at first, but you got good reviews and eventually rose in the reputation ranks and could command higher prices. Pretty soon you had more work than you could handle on your own so you brought on your cousin and two of the girls from your coding class. Now you have a thriving team and plenty of work. But it isn’t always easy. For security, your father has to escort you to the bank every time you need to pull out cash to pay your staff. The amounts are growing so now your brother will need to come, too.
And you’re one of the few women who even has a bank account — most of the women on your team must hand their pay directly over to their husbands. And recently, you have started receiving threats. Many don’t like that young women are employed, and that your projects come from foreigners. Having cash on hand isn’t safe, but what’s the alternative?
All of this changes with blockchain.
Identity can follow and serve us no matter where we go
or what governments recognize our personhood.
Not-for-profits and NGOs will have crystal clear transparency and
granular levels of reporting, increasing donor trust and confidence.
Those previously excluded from financial systems will have entirely
new tools, access, and freedoms.
Case Studies
An avid connector, I love pairing the right people with the right projects. Here are some examples.
[I also love privacy and discretion so the names have been withheld.]
Consulting to a successful executive who had recently stepped down to focus on philanthropy, she wanted to know how to evaluate organizations and have certainty of trust. We discussed her goals and interests, trends in the social-impact sector, and I provided a strong suggestion along with a few additional resources.
The suggestion was a match. An initial donation of $100,000 turned into a closely following second donation of $50,000, and broad support of the organization (not just earmarked funds). The group is working to expand its blockchain initiatives among other global projects, and has new capacity thanks to their new benefactor.
Engaged by an international nonprofit, I first walked the founders through the potential benefits of accepting cryptocurrency donations and integrating blockchain-based fundraising. They were curious but somewhat apprehensive about what it would involve and if there would be a stigma. [Yes, we have all read reports on the Silk Road.] Heartened by the possibility of reaching new donor audiences in addition to massively cutting costs transferring funds to their team in Africa, they asked to move forward.
In my presentation to the Board, I addressed concerns about price fluctuation, global levels of retail and commercial acceptance, and implications for the future. Voting in favor of opening the new channel of donations, the organization was later highlighted by a company owned by the Winklevoss twins who pledged to match all new donations. They gained big new funding and thousands of new followers.
